ProPublica

Why have immigration agents detained this American citizen three times? On May 2, agents followed Leonardo Garcia Venegas back to his home because they didn’t believe his claims of citizenship or that the REAL ID he showed them was legitimate. It was familiar territory: He’d already been detained twice by immigration agents — once last May and another time last June. Except this time, after cuffing him, they shackled his hands and feet. The same week of Garcia Venegas’s third detention, a top immigration official said at a border security conference that arrests “where we thought they were an illegal alien but they were actually a U.S. citizen” had “happened zero times.” Listen as Garcia Venegas shares the story of his third detention by immigration agents.

Across Oklahoma, wastewater from oil and gas operations is spreading uncontrollably belowground, blasting out of old wells, polluting the environment and contaminating drinking water. In a new documentary from The Frontier (@readfrontier ) and ProPublica, reporter Nick Bowlin investigates the scope of the massive problem threatening oil-producing states across the country. 🗓️ Join us May 20 at the Circle Cinema Theater in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a reception and public screening of this documentary film. Following the film, there will be a panel discussion and Q&A with filmmaker Katie Campbell, reporter Nick Bowlin and affected families. Space is limited, so registration is required. 🔗 RSVP at propublica.org/events or via the link in our bio.

In March 2025, the Trump administration made an offer to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturing facilities and other factories: Their operations could be exempted from key provisions under the Clean Air Act. No rigorous application was needed. An email would suffice. Executives across major industries began flooding an inbox set up to receive and funnel requests from the Environmental Protection Agency to the White House. ProPublica obtained 3,000 pages of emails that were sent to and from this inbox in the weeks that followed. All told, more than 180 facilities have — without input from EPA scientists — been given a two-year reprieve from following the latest Clean Air Act rules. Tap the link in our bio to read the full story. (📸: @bearguerra and @annieflanagan for ProPublica)

Two men promised a $1.1 million 3D printer could fix the housing crisis in Cairo, Illinois. More than a year later, the one duplex it printed still isn’t finished. Cracks formed in the structure, construction stopped and the printer was eventually removed, leaving behind a single unfinished house and a lot of unanswered questions. Now the FBI is taking a closer look, with subpoenas issued to the 3D-housing developers and officials distancing themselves from the project. No charges have been filed, and the company denies wrongdoing. But for the residents of Cairo, the reality is that these homes still haven’t been built, and the housing crisis continues. Watch ProPublica and @capitolnewsillinois journalist Molly Parker — who’s reported on housing in Cairo for at least a decade — explain what she found when she set out to find out what happened.

When powerful people try to cover their tracks, who holds them accountable? At ProPublica, reporters spend months, sometimes years, uncovering the truth. Follow along as we dig, document and expose what impacts you. Subscribe to our brand-new podcast, “Paper Trail” — hosted by investigative reporter Jessica Lussenhop (@jessicalussenhop ) — on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 🎨: Nate Sweitzer for ProPublica

Dave Altimari and Ginny Monk of @CTMirror and Sophie Chou and Haru Coryne of @propublica have won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. Their series “On the Hook” exposed a wide range of abuses committed by Connecticut towing companies. Within 24 hours of the first story publishing, lawmakers quickly proposed a bill overhauling the state’s century-old towing statutes. Listen to CT Mirror reporters Dave Altimari and Ginny Monk and ProPublica editor Michael Grabell celebrate the win.

After a deadly flood last summer in the Texas Hill Country, some state legislators scolded local officials for their decision not to invest in warning sirens and for the chaotic emergency response. Other elected leaders excused the storm as so massive that no one could have prepared for it. But lawmakers failed to address the underlying problem: They have repeatedly rejected bills that could protect residents in the state’s most dangerous, flood-prone areas, an investigation by @propublica and The Texas Tribune found. The majority of the 137 people confirmed to have died across five counties in the July 4 tragedy were staying in places identified by the federal government as being at risk for flooding, the newsrooms found. These were places where Texas lawmakers had a chance to curb development in the past, but didn’t. 📝: Emily Foxhall, Lexi Churchill and Pratheek Rebala 📸: @brendabazan

🏆 ProPublica and Local Reporting Network partner @CTMirror have won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for the series “On the Hook,” which exposed how Connecticut laws had come to favor towing companies at the expense of low-income residents. It is the ninth Pulitzer for ProPublica. Two additional ProPublica investigations were named finalists: ▪️Our “Rx Roulette” series about how the Food and Drug Administration has for years allowed risky drugs to enter the United States was named a finalist in the investigative reporting category. ▪️Our “The End of Aid” series about the fallout from the destruction of the U.S. Agency for International Development was named a finalist in the explanatory reporting category. They are the 13th and 14th Pulitzer finalists in 18 years. 🔗 Click the link in our bio for full award details. (Lead image photo by Zaydee Sanchez for ProPublica; Illustration for the “On the Hook” series by Anuj Shrestha, special to ProPublica; Photo for “The End of Aid” series by Brian Otieno for ProPublica.)

The Trump administration is poised to penalize people simply for living in the same home as their families. The Supplemental Security Income program provides a basic income to those with severe disabilities and to indigent older people. The administration’s rule change would deduct the value of a disabled adult’s bedroom from their monthly SSI benefit if the family members they live with are receiving food stamps. This would mean slashing the benefits of some of the most low-income SSI recipients by up to a third, or ending their support altogether. All told, as many as 400,000 disabled and older people across the U.S. could have their support cut or eliminated. Tap the link in our bio to read the full story. (📸: @carolinegutman for ProPublica)

In the first days after Pam Bondi was appointed attorney general last year, the Department of Justice began shutting down pending criminal cases at a record pace. In total, the DOJ quietly closed more than 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of President Donald Trump’s administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases, according to an analysis by ProPublica. Watch data reporter Ken Morales break down ProPublica’s analysis of the DOJ’s change in priorities.

Under new World Cup terms reviewed by the Chronicle, host cities like Houston receive no cut of ticket sales, concessions, merchandise or parking — key revenue streams that typically help offset the cost of hosting major events. Even selling tickets or suites in exchange for corporate sponsorships, a major moneymaker in the past, was restricted by FIFA this year. Read the full story, published in partnership with @propublica and @texas_tribune , at the link in our bio. 📝: Dylan McGuinness / Reporter 🎨: Glenn Harvey for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune 📸: Kirk Sides, Jason Fochtman, Melissa Phillip / Staff Photographers

Nearly 140,000 people filed claims against OxyContin maker Purdue for the harm they said its opioid drugs caused. Fewer than half of them will get any compensation from the company’s $7.4 billion settlement. A ProPublica (@propublica ) and Inquirer examination of court records found that the number of people who could potentially receive settlements has plummeted to just 60,000. Estimated settlement amounts for people whose family members fatally overdosed dropped to as little as $8,000; the previous payout for an OxyContin death had been $48,000. The number of eligible claimants is expected to drop even more because the new plan also stripped language that victims’ attorneys once praised: the use of sworn affidavits as proof of opioid use. Such statements have been part of other major bankruptcy cases — such as those driven by sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Church — to account for harm done years earlier with scant or impossible to obtain physical evidence. As a result, the final count of people receiving help from the Purdue bankruptcy saga will hardly reflect the sweep of America’s prescription opioid crisis, which has claimed an estimated 300,000 lives and left millions more addicted. Purdue’s attorneys said in court that the company played no role in designing the claims process. The company referred questions for this story to Akin, the major Washington D.C.-based firm representing the victims and other creditors. Akin did not respond to requests for comment. Tap the link in our bio to read the full story from @propublica and @phillyinquirer . 📝 by Craig R. McCoy and Bob Fernandez for The Inquirer 📹 by Jenna Miller / The Inquirer; Additional footage by Gabe Coffey / The Inquirer 📊 by Gabe Coffey / The Inquirer ✂️ by Lauren Schneiderman / The Inquirer